The importance of narrative

Some of these little video podcasts are examples of excellent media design. Here is a model use of technology with media (script, music, images)�see the link on the right for the �Don’t Waste Your Life Video Podcast� then click on the link to “video podcasts” in the first paragraph for the (Feb 16, 2007) podcast segment.

What makes this one an excellent example are: (1) it has a narrative arch in both message and delivery. There are plenty of other examples out there that use this very same �style� and template and the same �medium� but they lack impact and do not connect with the viewer-listener because of that one important missing element: narrative. (2) It hits both the cognitive and the affective domains of the listener. The concept of a value (not wasting one’s life) is provided with an emotional impact on the viewer through the use of image, sound, that reinforces the narrative. All that in about six seconds.